As drunk as a Time Lord! How Doctor Who became Doctor Booze, by young co-star

He was the longest-serving and most iconic Time Lord ever to set foot inside the Tardis. But now Tom Baker, who played Doctor Who for seven years, has been branded a ranting, boorish drunk by one of his co-stars.

Matthew Waterhouse, who played the Doctor’s faithful companion Adric, makes the allegations in a warts-and-all biography which sheds an unwelcome light on the smash hit BBC series.

Recalling his first meeting with Baker, who played the Doctor between 1974 and 1981, Waterhouse writes: ‘Suddenly [he] turned to me and barked, “Why don’t you p*** off?”

‘I was baffled and upset and determined that things would be better by tomorrow.’

But, according to his book Blue Box Boy, things quickly went from bad to worse.

Waterhouse
recalls how chain-smoking Baker would arrive late and dishevelled from
lunchtime drinking sessions and refuse to deliver any of the scripted
lines.

He writes: ‘By five, there were big oval sweat rings under the arms of Tom’s thin white shirt.

‘Oddly,
the more temperamental and nightmarish he had been that day the larger
the rings of sweat, as if his own dreadfulness had made him perspire –
a weirdly appealing failing.’

According to Waterhouse’s book, nobody escaped Baker’s wrath. He once launched a tirade against scriptwriters who wondered how a scene would be perceived by adult viewers. Baker is reported to have said: ‘I can’t ****ing stand adults. I only give a s*** about the children. Adults can **** off.’

Even Lalla Ward, who played Lady Romana and later married Baker, was upset by his on-set antics. ‘‘Dreadful man,” Lalla whined. “I don’t know what’s gone wrong”. She looked teary. I wanted to cry too, from embarrassment.’ But Baker’s dedication to the show’s young fans was such that he even refused to turn one away when he was worse for wear.

Matthew Waterhouse says working with Tom Baker was a nightmare

Waterhouse, now 48, writes: ‘Tom once told me a story about throwing up in a car park. Halfway through, a little boy came up to him and said “Are you Doctor Who?” “Hang on a moment,” said Tom. He then pulled, from the inside pocket of his rain-splashed raincoat, a photograph of himself which he inscribed for the child, who walked away blissfully happy.’

Waterhouse believes drink may have contributed to the star’s odd demeanour on an edition of the BBC’s magazine show Nationwide. ‘He leant against the Tardis, which appeared to be propping him up.’ According to Waterhouse, who was just 18 when he took on the role, Baker was not the only BBC employee fond of a drink.

‘It was a joke that TV Centre was circular because its staff were too drunk to walk straight.’

Michael Emptage, Baker’s agent, said: ‘Tom is a well-respected and popular actor and I don’t think we would want to comment on this.’